Fundraising HayDay

What is known as the Big Beautiful Bill was signed into law on July 4, 2025. While this is not a budget bill, its legislation includes tax changes and spending policies that will significantly affect nonprofits, local government, hospitals, communities, and those we serve. It’s always better to understand the storm that is coming so we can best prepare. JOIN THE FUNDRAISING HAYDAY COMMUNITY: Becom...

Professional development (or learning and development as it is referred to in the UK) is often the first thing cut when budgets are tight. But what does that mean for fundraisers and grant professionals? We are joined by Cam St Omer-Donaldson with Fundraising Everywhere to learn about their study on the impacts of learning and development on job performance and job satisfaction. It’s just what you...

Any experienced grant professional will tell you: if you don’t have a need for the grant, there is no need to write the grant. A needs assessment (or problem statement) requires data from reputable sources to show community need for your proposed program or project. This episode spells out where to find such data – from government agencies to your own backyard. JOIN THE FUNDRAISING HAYDAY COMMUNIT...

2025 has been a year, and it’s only June. For those working in the nonprofit space, it’s time to unite our voices and lead with courage. Today we’re speaking with organizer Vanessa Priya Daniel about her recently published book, “Unrig the Game: What Women of Color Can Teach Everyone About Winning” so we can learn how to do just that. We’re talking work amongst generations, the work of movement or...

Today’s guest said that her career culminated during the pandemic when she was working on her doctorate around nonprofits and organizational resilience during disruptive times. Dr. Brandi Rae Hicks has worked for and with United Way, Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice, the Georgia Center for Nonprofits, and many other organizations. These experiences have created a well-rounded grant professio...

What’s the first step of the grant writing process? In what might be a shocking turn of events, it’s not grant writing. So many organizations skip the grant readiness step, and that is to their detriment. If your agency wants to find success in grant seeking and grant management, then you need to take the steps necessary to be ready for those processes. If you are unsure what all this entails, the...

Collaboration comes in so many shapes and sizes, especially when grant professionals are involved. You can sub-contract for consultants, develop a joint grant proposal, co-author journal articles, co-present workshops and webinars, and so much more. We’re joined by Dana Patterson and Melody Hernandez, two successful grant professionals in the Greater Bay Area, who have found many ways to happily c...

Does your organization have an award or recognition program for your members? Did you ever consider using grants to fund those programs? Well, maybe you should. We are joined by David Lindeman, CFRE, GPC, Director of Grants & Development for the Society for Neuroscience. In his role he manages the organization’s award programs and grant funding, so it’s no wonder he decided to combine the two....

Have you ever experienced imposter syndrome? Our cohosts have. Heck, many grant professionals have. We’re sharing our own experiences, the many types of imposter syndrome, and ways to reduce/eliminate the feeling.   JOIN THE FUNDRAISING HAYDAY COMMUNITY: Become a member of the Patreon   SHOW NOTES: “Is Imposter Syndrome Holding You Back from Living Your Best Life? Why you still feel like you’re fa...

Have you ever been treated as if you couldn’t do a job or a skill because you were too old or too young? Have people stereotyped you because of your generation? Or maybe it was your gender, race, or marital status that caused folks to make assumptions about you? For our guest, Maggie Dennis, she experienced ageism by a client, and she’s sharing her story, other examples, and the fallout of such ex...

In October 2024, the latest changes to the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (also known as 2 CFR Part 200 or Uniform Guidance) went into effect. Many changes were beneficial to grantees. And while this was recorded before the new administration started making drastic changes in the federal fundin...

When communicating with anyone, language matters. Language is especially important when you serve as grant and/or fundraising professionals who use the written word to explain to funders the needs, successes, and goals of the communities we serve. It is vital we use inclusive language no matter who we are talking about. Joining the conversation is Morgan Carpenter, GPC, a grant writer who focuses...

Professional coaching can go a long way to improve your work, your team, and your organization. But what does it even mean? We’re talking with John Hall, motivational speaker and performance advisor, about the aspects of his program Coaching Up. At the center of it all is collaborative communication, connecting with people, teamwork, gifts and doubts, taking inventory, and  gratitude.   JOIN THE F...

A great way to spread your wings, learn new skills, and gain leadership experience is to get involved with a professional organization. For grant and fundraising professionals, groups like the Grant Professionals Association (GPA), Association of Fundraising Professionals, and National Grant Management Association, are organizations that offer a wide variety of volunteer opportunities.   During th...

If your organization is looking to meet community needs for the benefit of the public, whether it be infrastructure or programming, you can ask your federal elected officials to legislate that project so Congress will send money to fund it. If this sounds familiar, it is. Years ago, it was called earmarks or federal appropriations, but around 2011 this funding source went away (or did it?). Join o...

As grant professionals, communication is the root of our work. Not only are we responsible for conveying information through the written word, but we must communicate with a variety of colleagues, subject matter experts, program directors, finance personnel, leaders, elected officials, funders, and more. We’re talking with Michelle Gladieux about the value and importance of communication, plus how...

Amanda and Kimberly have a combined 50+ years of grant work. To say our cohosts have learned a few things along the way is an understatement. They are sharing their top 10 lessons learned along the way – maybe a few of them will resonate with you.

For many grant professionals, the leap from working for an organization to starting your own grant and/or fundraising consultancy is a scary one. There are so many questions, from wondering if you should be an LLC or sole proprietor to what to charge and how to market your business.   The Fundraising HayDay cohosts partnered with Allison Boyd , Owner of Boyd Grants , to create Morphology , an on-d...

Foundation and corporate grants are a funding source for many nonprofit organizations, but since these funders are not required to have a website, your best source of information is their annual Form 990. On that document they are required to share information about their assets, board members, recent grantees, and a few details about how to submit an application (or not if they do not accept unso...

Have you ever worked at an organization where you were expected to bring in all the funding plus a million other things? Your title might be Development Director, Grants Administrator, Director of Fundraising, or anything along those lines. But that title alone doesn’t mean you have the time, skills, capacity, and energy to do all the things dumped in your lap. Multi-tasking is a total myth, so we...

People come to the grant field from a variety of backgrounds and their work varies depending on their clients, focus, and experience. Dr. Janelle Harvey’s passion is nonprofits and ensuring they have the resources needed to thrive. She shares her insights on being mentored, working with faith-based organizations, her recent experience with the Milestone Circles program at the Nasdaq Entrepreneuria...

Many grant proposals allow, and sometimes require, letters of support. Whether you call them support letters, letters of endorsement, or commitment letters, this is a means for funders to see the wide range of “support” for your project or program. They can be gathered from individuals, nonprofits, government agencies, elected officials, businesses, school systems, civic organizations, and more. B...

The fastest road to burnout is overloading your staff. Boards, elected officials, executive directors, and other leaders must understand the capacity of time and resources necessary to develop and manage grant proposals. It is not a solo sport. So before chasing the dollars, ensure the right people with the right skills are on your agency’s grants team to ensure success and longevity of your grant...

It’s a bonus episode! In January 2024, Kimberly and Amanda (your Fundraising HayDay cohosts) attended Courageous Leadership training led by Julie Boll. Over 8 weeks we each built and refined our calls to courage, affirmed our skills, and learned what courageous leadership looks like for us. Today, Julie is taking the reins and interviewing us about this process and the changes in our business and...

What two things are necessary for a sustainable nonprofit? Fundraising and administration. What two things are nonprofits often judged for spending money on? Fundraising and administration.   Programs serve people, but you cannot have programs without funding and staff. Nonprofits need oversight. They require finance personnel, fundraisers, executive directors, and more.   Too many organizations a...